sustainable farming

Farmer of the Month: Abby Schilling of Mick Klüg Farms

By Lex Flamm on June 28, 2024

“So, a social worker, a farmer, an engineer, and a salesman walk into a bar…” That sounds like the beginning of a cheesy joke, but if you swap the word “farm” in for “bar,” it’s pretty close to the …

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: berries, family farm, farmer of the month, stone fruit, sustainable farming

Farmer of the Month: Javier Zamora of JSM Organics

By Lex Flamm on April 19, 2024

Stepping out of the car and onto the soil of JSM Organics in Royal Oaks, California, felt like setting foot in an orderly kind of paradise. Spring sunshine swept over the strawberry fields and …

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: berries, California, california farms, farmer of the month, sustainable farming

EcoFarm 2024 Celebrates BIPOC and Queer Farmers

By Lex Flamm on February 9, 2024

Every winter, FruitGuys Senior Buyer and Chief Fruit Detective Rebecca North counts down the days to the EcoFarm Conference. The event hosted by the non-profit Ecological Farming Association brings …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News Tagged With: farmers, small farms, sustainable agriculture, sustainable farming

2023 Small Farm Grant Winners Share Their Project Achievements

By Sheila Cassani on February 8, 2024

In 2023, The FruitGuys Community Fund (TFGCF) awarded its largest class of farm grantees so far: 18 small-scale farms and agricultural non-profits were awarded a total of $83,757 in grant awards for …

Filed Under: Impact Tagged With: farm grants, fruitguys community fund, GoodWorks, small farms, sustainable farming

Farmer of the Month: Vince Bernard of Bernard Ranch

By Lex Flamm on January 30, 2024

It can be tough to get a farmer on the phone during their busiest season. But when The FruitGuys called Vince Bernard of Bernard Ranch to check in on how his family farm in Riverside, CA, was doing, …

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: California, citrus, family farm, farmer of the month, sustainable farming

Fruit in Words and Deeds

By Chris Mittelstaedt on April 18, 2023

The struggle and beauty of fruit, its cultivation and care, is a dance of regenerative-impermanence. As we approach Earth Day, I find myself fascinated with the idea that the earth itself gives us …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News Tagged With: farm grants, fruitguys community fund, sustainability, sustainable farming

The Balance Needed in Spring

By Chris Mittelstaedt on March 21, 2023

Balance feels like something we need these days. Between wild weather (in California at least) and banking instability, finding balance for farmers, and the ag industry in general has been a bit of a …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News Tagged With: b corp, berries, GoodWorks, spring, support small farms, sustainable agriculture, sustainable farming

From Seed to Need

By Sheila Cassani on April 23, 2015

The FruitGuys Community Fund, a nonprofit fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, will award small American farms and agricultural nonprofits a total of $35,643 in 2015 for sustainability …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Impact Tagged With: farm, farm grants, fruitguys community fund, GoodWorks, sustainability, sustainable farming

Alumni Grantees: Class of 2013

By The FruitGuys Community Fund on July 1, 2014

In the Community Fund’s first year of operation, we gave nearly $20,000 in grants to five farms and agricultural nonprofits in California and Pennsylvania. Here are some updates on how their projects …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Impact Tagged With: farm grants, fruitguys community fund, sustainable agriculture, sustainable farming

Arizona’s Own Valley Farms

By FruitGuys Staff on November 11, 2013

At 4,000 feet, the Willcox area in Northern Cochise County, AZ, was known as the “Cattle Capital” in the Old West days. Situated near Dos Cabezas Mountains, Willcox is now a major producer …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Profiles Tagged With: organic farming, organic fruit, sustainable farming

New Family Farm

By Heidi Lewis on May 23, 2013

New Family Farm of Sebastopol, California, was one of six farms awarded grants in April 2013 from The FruitGuys Community Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives. An outgrowth of …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Profiles Tagged With: California, family farm, fruitguys community fund, organic farming, sustainable farming

Health Per Acre

By Judith Redmond on June 8, 2011

By Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farm, courtesy of Capay Valley Farm Shop Despite heavy rain, a surprisingly large group of people turned out for the Full Belly Open Farm Day. While we couldn’t …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Profiles Tagged With: California, organic farming, spring, sustainability, sustainable farming